Can vs Clyne head-to-head: Which Liverpool star came out on top?

Liverpool duo Nathaniel Clyne and Emre Can both featured in Berlin on Saturday night as England recorded a truly superb 3-2 victory over Germany, coming from two goals down with 30 minutes to play.

Both teams started the match naming a number of leading stars, yet a surprise inclusion for the Germans was the sight of Liverpool’s holding midfielder Can playing the entire 90 minutes at right-back.

Can joined the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen and immediately displayed his versatility, dropping back from his usual central midfield position to centre-back as then-boss Brendan Rodgers went to a back three.

But the talented youngster has rarely featured at right-back, and that is where German coach Joachim Loew opted to utilise him as he looked to match his height up against England’s Danny Welbeck.

Therefore with both Can and Clyne positioned at right-back, it was a unique sight to see two Liverpool players playing in the same position but at opposite ends of the pitch.

Interceptions

Effective Clearances

Touches

Accurate Passes

Take-ons

Crosses

Assists

Mins Played

Emre Can

4

3

83

65

3

4

0

90

Nathaniel Clyne

2

4

41

26

1

2

1

90

As shown by the table above, despite looking rather uncomfortable and certainly vulnerable in terms of positioning, Can actually compared well statistically with Clyne in terms of key defensive contributions.

The German ace posted more interceptions, touches, accurate passes, crosses and successful take-ons than his Liverpool colleague yet England’s natural right-back did make one telling assist.

With the scoreline at 2-1 to the hosts, Clyne burst down the right flank and whipped in a near-post cross which Leicester City’s man of the moment Jamie Vardy superbly dispatched past Manuel Neuer.

If Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp was watching, and he most probably was, he could be quite content with Can’s display overall but it is not likely he will contemplate putting him in Clyne's spot anytime soon.

Tom Thorogood

I'm a 27 year old language teacher and writer based out in Mexico with a passion for football and swimming. I like to focus on the top European Leagues, especially La Liga, as well as the footballing development in Central and South America. My favourite teams include Derby County, Barcelona and Jagaures de Chiapas.